The National Secular Society has weighed into the row over the religious “takeover” of five East End schools.

The Church of England (C of E)is proposing a multi-academy trust for Central Walker Church of England School, West Walker Primary School, Walkergate Primary School, Tyneview Primary and Benfield School, all in Newcastle’s East End.

Walker Tech College, the sixth school in the existing Riverside Learning Trust, decided not to join the trust.

If the plans go ahead, it would mean the church having a majority of the trust’s board members, despite only one of the five schools being Church of England.

The National Secular Society (NSS) wrote to Janet Renou, the Regional Schools Commissioner for North of England.

It urged her to turn down the CofE’s proposal “in the interests of preserving secular education in the area, protecting parental choice and respecting children’s rights to religious freedom”.

It noted a 2015 keynote report presented to the Church of England General Synod which said that the Church had an “urgent need” to focus evangelism on children, young people and their parents in light of a catastrophic collapse in adult church attendance.

The letter cited concern from Councillor Dave Wood, the city council, and Nick Brown, MP for Newcastle East.

It concluded: “I trust that you will give these concerns serious consideration and ensure that local parental rights and children’s independent interests are not eclipsed by the wishes of the Church of England to gain greater influence and control of children’s education in the local area.”

Walker councillor Dave Wood said: “My main issue is that it is not democratic. The move would see a members board of five people, three of which would be Church of England representatives. That is despite only one Church of England school being involved.

“I do not think the consultation process was robust enough. Councillors opposed to the move were not consulted at all directly and parents have said they do not want the schools to be taken over.

“The church are saying this is not a takeover by them but then if it isn’t that, what is it?”

Central Walker Church of England Primary School, Walker

Academy schools, unlike their state counterparts, are semi-independent and are allowed to deviate from the national curriculum. They have charitable status and can be sponsored by businesses or charities.

The Government plans to have all schools run as academies by 2020 but face resistance from teachers’ union NUT, which says the plans involve transferring publicly funded assets to private, unaccountable bodies.

Coun Wood was joined in his opposition to the plans by Newcastle East MP Nick Brown, who says he will campaign against the proposal.

A spokesperson for Newcastle City Council said the authority would not, and could not, stand in the way of schools seeking to become academies, but expressed concerns.

A statement said: “We do have concerns about the impact that these changes could have across the family of schools within the city and on the ability of the local authority to carry out its statutory duties, such as responding to and meeting future and changing needs of the local population.

“We would like an assurance that if the NEAT Academy Trust is established, schools would continue to work in partnership with the city council and other schools in Newcastle and follow local arrangements regarding a fair approach to school admissions.”

The Newcastle Diocesan Education Board says the ethos of both the community schools and the church school will be protected through the funding agreement with the Secretary of State.

It added that Church of England schools are there to provide education rather than promote church membership.

It also said each school within the multi-academy trust will have a local governing body with parents sitting on them to ensure the ‘ethos’ of the respective schools is respected.

The consultation stage has finished and the Department for Education (DfE) will now make a decision.

A DfE spokesperson said: “We are committed to making sure that every child gets an excellent education, and academies are a key part of that.

“We are in discussion with this group of schools to look at viable options going forward.”